Canada-Africa Fintech Summit – Canada-Africa Fintech Convergence – Nurturing Talents, Fueling Growth, Forging Cross-Border Prosperity for Sustainability
For more info., check here: www.cafsummit.com
Nigeria’s Billboxx Secures USD 1.6M Pre-Seed Funding
Nigerian fintech startup Billboxx has announced the close of its USD 1.6 M pre-seed funding round to enhance its invoicing and cash flow solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The funding round included a mix of debt and equity investments from Norrsken Accelerator, Kaleo Ventures, 54 Collective, P2Vest, and Afrinovation Ventures.
Founded in 2023 by Justus Obaoye and Abdulazeez Ogunjobi, Billboxx provides a B2B SaaS platform designed to automate and simplify business billing and payment workflows. The platform helps businesses expedite payments, reducing processing times while improving cash flow management.
The raised capital will enable Billboxx to expand its platform’s features and support more SMEs across Nigeria, addressing the challenges of cumbersome and time-intensive billing processes faced by business owners and their finance teams.
Read more: https://weetracker.com/2024/12/12/nigeria-billboxx-1-6m-pre-seed-funding/
Egyptian banks launch Apple Pay tokenization
Egypt – Several major Egyptian banks have activated card tokenization services through Apple Pay, following the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) February 2023 approval of regulations for this technology. National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and Commercial International Bank (CIB) are among the first institutions to offer the service.
Tokenization allows customers to register their payment cards within their smartphone applications, enabling contactless payments at point-of-sale terminals and online. This method enhances security and streamlines transactions.
The CBE’s approval of these regulations is part of a broader initiative to promote digital transformation within the Egyptian financial sector. The new rules pave the way for other international companies, such as Samsung Pay, and fintech firms to offer similar services. This is expected to create opportunities for developing innovative financial solutions designed to meet customer demand.
Read more: https://www.zawya.com/en/business/fintech/egyptian-banks-launch-apple-pay-tokenization-gn9p7m5l
Circle and Binance Partner to Accelerate USDC Stablecoin Adoption
Circle Internet Group and world’s largest crypto exchange Binance have formed a strategic partnership to expand the use of USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.
Binance will integrate USDC more deeply into its platform, offering over 240 million of its global users more options to trade, save, and use USDC for payments.
The crypto exchange will also hold USDC as a significant asset in its corporate treasury.
Read more: https://fintechnews.sg/105172/digitalassets/circle-binance-stablecoin/
How African fintech firms can navigate tightening regulations
Fintech firms across Africa are seeking solutions to survive in a growing regulatory environment as policies are put in place to safeguard consumers within the booming digital payments sector.
On Tuesday in Casablanca, Morrocco, the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) addressed this challenge by hosting a panel discussion titled “Innovating under pressure: The future of African fintech payments.”
One panelist, David Akinin, founder and CEO of JABU, a fintech firm operating out of Zambia, said the country presents unique challenges due to stringent data localization requirements.
“Zambia specifically requires that we have everything in a local server, like all the personal data that we’re collecting, and all these things get inputted into a local server. As a fintech [company], you’re using international data cloud providers, [and] you’re trying to manage your systems in a way that you’re not depending on data servers locally; I mean, we have electricity problems in Zambia,” he said.
UK fintech Stenn collapsed after Russia money laundering case drew scrutiny
UK fintech Stenn collapsed into administration after a reference to the company in a US criminal indictment about a Russian money laundering scheme prompted its lenders to begin probing potentially suspicious transactions, according to people familiar with the situation.
Stenn, which specialised in invoice financing and once boasted a $900mn valuation and partnerships with international banks such as Citigroup and Barclays, had two of its UK units placed into administration last week after an application to London’s High Court from HSBC Innovation Bank, one of its lenders.
HSBC began probing potentially suspicious transactions at the London-based start-up earlier this year after US authorities unsealed criminal indictments in a money laundering case that included passing references to Stenn and its Russian founder and chief executive Greg Karpovsky, according to people familiar with the matter.
Read more: https://www.ft.com/content/182839d7-f2d2-4a65-be10-3371630eb59b
